S&P 500 Exceeds Earnings Forecasts Amid U.S. Gov Wallet Hack

U.S. Government wallet compromised with $20M in altcoins, Kraken’s new blockchain plans, Stripe’s $1.1B Bridge acquisition, S&P 500 earnings beat expectations, and more key economic updates.

Last week’s Highlights Big News (October 21 – October 27)

ArkhamIntel reported that $20 million in altcoins (USDC, USDT, aUSDC, and ETH) was transferred from a U.S. Government wallet, which appears to have been compromised. The funds were moved to another wallet, where they are being converted to ETH and potentially laundered through suspicious addresses tied to a known money laundering service.

Kraken exchange has announced the development of its own blockchain, set for a full launch in 2025, with a testnet scheduled to go live this year.

Aurum Equity Partners has launched a $1 billion investment fund on the XRP Ledger blockchain. This fund, a first of its kind, combines equity and debt in tokenized form to invest in data centers across the U.S., UAE, Saudi Arabia, India, and Europe.

Sui has teamed up with Google Cloud, enabled by ZettaBlock, to provide developers with real-time blockchain data via Google Cloud’s Pub/Sub service. This initiative aims to enhance applications in areas such as AI-driven fraud detection and high-speed gaming transactions.

Chainlink introduced new technology designed to help financial institutions secure blockchain transactions.

Stripe acquired stablecoin platform Bridge for $1.1 billion, marking the largest acquisition in the crypto industry to date.

Yuga Labs launched Apechain, an Ethereum Layer-2 network, built using Arbitrum’s technology.

Russia enacted a new crypto law, effective November 1, enabling the government to regulate mining activities by region, halt mining in certain areas, manage infrastructure, and oversee transactions suspected of money laundering or terrorist financing.

Macroeconomics

• Weekly jobless claims rose to 227,000, below the expected 243,000 and down from the previous 242,000 (better than expected).
• Over 32% of S&P 500 companies have reported Q3 earnings, with 76% surpassing analysts’ forecasts (better than expected).
• October’s Manufacturing PMI climbed to 47.8, above expectations of 47.5 and up from 47.3 (better than expected).
• The Services PMI for October rose to 55.3, slightly exceeding the expected 55.0 and previous 55.2 (better than expected).

(PMI data tracks company purchasing activity; a PMI above 50 suggests expansion as companies are buying more goods and services, indicating strong performance.)

Key Economic Events This Week

A busy week ahead with releases of PCE inflation data, U.S. unemployment figures, and a key interest rate decision from the Bank of Japan.

Tuesday, October 29

• S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index (20 cities)
• Consumer Confidence Index
• Job Openings

Wednesday, October 30

• GDP Growth Rate (estimated at 3.2%; previous 3.0%)
• Bank of Japan Interest Rate Decision 🇯🇵 (expected to remain unchanged)

Thursday, October 31

• PCE Inflation Index (forecasted 2.1%; prior month 2.2%)
• Core PCE (forecasted 2.6%; prior month 2.7%)

Friday, November 1

• U.S. Unemployment Rate (forecasted at 4.1%; previous month 4.1%)

Market Overview

The crypto market has remained relatively calm this weekend, with Bitcoin hovering around $67,000, showing little volatility. As the U.S. Presidential election approaches, trading activity has slowed, and some altcoins are beginning to show signs of recovery.

In the past 24 hours, over $79 million in stablecoins have flowed into exchanges, signaling growing market interest. Meanwhile, newly listed coins on Binance have seen sharp declines, and the volume ratio on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) compared to centralized exchanges (CEXs) has reached an all-time high.

The aforementioned data above suggests that investors are shifting funds from social media chatter on X (Twitter) to platforms with higher trading volumes, seeking more robust liquidity.